WEST SACRAMENTO -- Halfway between first and second base on his first home run trot in more than 10 months, Leo Jiménez lifted his right index finger. The Blue Jays infielder held it out in front of him, toward Toronto’s bullpen beyond the wall in right-center field, as he rounded second base at Sutter Health Park.
“That’s one,” Jiménez’s gesture seemed to say.
It was only a solo homer in the second inning of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Athletics, but it was quite the cathartic moment for a young player going through an admittedly difficult 2025.
After battling illness and injury, Jiménez -- who entered Saturday 1-for-12 at the plate since being called back up to the Blue Jays on July 1 -- launched his first homer in the Minors or Majors since Sept. 3, 2024.
“It was a rough start, but at the end of the day, I was excited to be back,” he said. “Now that I’m here, just trying to take advantage of it and just do as much as I can to help the team win games.”
Jiménez couldn’t propel Toronto to a win in Saturday’s middle game of a three-game set against the A’s, but he definitely made an impact. Not only did he homer in his first at-bat, but he also slapped a nice sliding tag to catch A’s outfielder Lawrence Butler stealing and made what manager John Schneider called “a hell of a play up the middle” from second base in the fourth inning.
The second-year infielder ranged to his right to snag a Miguel Andujar chopper behind the bag and fired across his body to first base, where Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a smooth, one-hop pick for the out.
Filling in at second for an elite defender in the injured Andrés Giménez, the newly recalled Jiménez takes pride in his ability with the glove.
"I think my defense is my No. 1 priority when it comes to being up here,” Jiménez said. “Of course, being able to take good at-bats and put the team in a good spot.”
Jiménez -- Toronto’s No. 5 prospect at the time of his July 4, 2024, debut -- handled himself capably with the bat in his 63-game rookie season, hitting .229 with four home runs and a .686 OPS.
But he didn’t make the Blue Jays out of Spring Training in 2025, finding himself optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on March 21.
Then things REALLY went haywire.
The morning after being optioned, Jiménez woke up sick with what he believed to be the flu.
Jiménez had to be taken to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with mononucleosis.
“I had no clue what it was, so they explained what that was, and I was like, ‘Damn,’” he said.
Jiménez sat at home for weeks, laid low by the viral infection and feeling fatigued. When he was finally able to resume baseball activities, his right hamstring began balking. Activated from Buffalo’s seven-day injured list on May 27, he was back on the IL a week later, missing 11 more days. In 22 Minor League games this season, he batted .274 with a .728 OPS and no home runs.
Then he got the call. On July 1, with the surging Blue Jays in the middle of a pivotal four-game series against the Yankees -- a set Toronto went on to sweep -- Jiménez was recalled to the Major Leagues.
With the Blue Jays winning games, his confidence was at an all-time high -- even higher than when he made his MLB debut.
"It feels good being able to actually get a little bit of a taste of the big leagues last year and now being able to get called up again and actually being on the team while we’re doing good,” Jiménez said.
If Saturday’s performance is any indication, Jiménez could be the latest unheralded hitter to give the Blue Jays some important production. On Friday, Schneider praised players such as Nathan Lukes, Addison Barger, Tyler Heineman and Myles Straw for what he called “pleasant contributions” to a first-place club.
Perhaps Jiménez will be next.
“I think you’re getting the expected production out of guys you expected it from, and then there’s been guys really embracing their role and who they are,” Schneider said.